After all these years they were once more all together again. After a long drawn out hiatus of some six years, Cliff and Peggy Mann were finally able to corral all five sons together for Christmas at home; their third son’s extended sojourn in Berlin plus his fifteen months on Taiwan having finally led to a long-due reunion. Accompanying their Mom to midnight mass at St. Joseph’s, the boys came home to a sumptuous meal prepared by their father, which was later followed by a merry exchange of gifts, with Dick, the third son, stealing the show by bestowing each and every brother with a long scroll, on which a Chinese symbol had been carefully calligraphed. Just to add some excitement to the moment, Dick listed all twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, challenging his brothers to choose the one that they thought was valid for them, promising the winner a six-pack of the beer of their choice. Although they tried their best, all efforts were in vain, because the facts were such – Dave was born in the year of the tiger, Jim was a snake, Doug a monkey and Dan a rat. Dick, himself a horse, made it clear that all the symbols had many positive and negative connotations, with the only real exception being the dragon. After much whiskey, with their Mom pounding out a wide selections of tunes from the Thirties and Forties, the whole family finally decided to hit the hay around 3:30 am. The next morning over brunch, Dick was asked by his parents as to just exactly what he intended to do, now that he was finally back in Florida. Anticipating this very question, he was Johnny-on-the-spot with a convincing answer. Basically his plan was to kill two birds with one stone ; first off he’d use the remaining nine months of his GI Bill to study for three quarters at Florida State, and attain a teaching scholarship while working for his Ph. D. To top things off, he’d then seek out a junior college in Florida and starting teaching there. Any further questions? Of course not, here was a rocket ready for re-launch. His Mom gave him a questioning look, hopeful, but by no means convinced that this would conclude with a happy ending. Dick finished up by adding that he and Jim would be driving up to Tally in two days to put the final touch on things.
However, once in Tallahassee a few days later his confidence quickly started to disintegrate because his visit to the Veteran’s Office turned out to be a disaster in that he was bluntly told that his final nine months of GI Bill benefits could only be used on academic work leading to a bachelor’s degree. Dick’s adamant reply that he had already obtained his BA ,and that his MA from the Free University of West Berlin had been a result of GI Bill benefits from the states failed to cut any ice with the VA office staff, with him being told there was absolutely no chance for him receiving financial aid when working toward a graduate degree. Later that day, he sat down in Jim’s house in Marianna, some seventy miles west of the state capital telling his brother his woes, expecting some commiseration, with Jim merely listening stolidly, his mind already seeking alternatives. Seeing that Dick was literally at a dead end, Jim suggested the following plan – until things somehow panned out with the VA, why not start work here in the vicinity so as to fill his empt
